Merlier at the double as Van der Poel denied at Tour de France stage nine
This was a second win for Soudal Quick-Step sprinter Merlier who was first across the line on stage three at Dunkirk as he racked up a 12th stage win this year.
On a sun drenched slog from the Chinon vineyards, Van der Poel and a teammate broke early and built up a lead of 5min 30sec on the flat roads to Chateauroux.
Jonas Rickaert won the combativity award for accompanying Van der Poel to within 10km of the line before slumping over his handlebars.
With his gung-ho all-in style Van der Poel grew his Tour de France legend here despite being caught with 700m to go, the plaudits will be both his and Merlier's.
As Van der Poel was reeled in, it looked as though Jonathan Milan would win a second consecutive stage but Merlier got ahead with 50m remaining as Milan finished second with Arnaud De Lie completing the podium.
Pogacar's Tour de France defence took a hit Sunday as his key teammate Joao Almeida threw in the towel two days after his nasty fall at the Mur de Bretagne, where he fractured a rib.
Monday's stage 10 should shake up the race with eight classified climbs in the Massif Central on the July 14 French national holiday.
Road signs in honour of British cycling great Mark Cavendish had been placed at entry points to Chateauroux -- reading Cavendish City -- in homage to the now-retired 40-year-old, after he won three stages there in 2008, 2011 and 2021.
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XDS-Astana) + 1 h 43 min 03 s Jarrad Drizners (Australie ; Lotto) + 1 h 45 min 19 s Guillaume Boivin (Canada ; Israel-Premier Tech) + 1 h 45 min 39 s Lennert Van Eetvelt (Belgique ; Lotto) + 1 h 46 min 04 s Arnaud De Lie (Belgique ; Lotto) + 1 h 47 min 47 s Silvan Dillier (Suisse ; Alpecin-Deceuninck) + 1 h 49 min 03 s Kamil Gradek (Pologne ; Bahrain Victorius) + 1 h 49 min 07 s Yevgeniy Fedorov (Kazakhstan ; XDS-Astana) + 1 h 49 min 09 s Mick Van Dijke (Pays-Bas ; Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) + 1 h 49 min 23 s Luke Durbridge (Australie ; Jayco-AlUla) + 1 h 49 min 24 s Simone Consonni (Italie ; Lidl-Trek) + 1 h 49 min 33 s Edward Theuns (Belgique ; Lidl-Trek) + 1 h 49 min 57 s Sébastien Grignard (Belgique ; Lotto) + 1 h 50 min 35 s Fabian Lienhard (Suisse ; Tudor) + 1 h 52 min 12 s Jordi Meeus (Belgique ; Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) + 1 h 52 min 55 s Davide Ballerini (Italie ; XDS-Astana) + 1 h 57 min 03 s Roel Van Sintmaartensdijk (Pays-Bas ; Intermarché-Wanty) + 1 h 57 min 27 s (France ; TotalEnergies) + 2 h 02 min 55 s
